Garnet & Amber …

XO'MagickMoon'OX

Upon Awakening …

Koryu sat perched atop the roof of the Kudo house, watching Kohaku tend to her morning chores, the same chores she used to do a hundred years ago: water the plants, trim the hedges, feed the birds … blah, blah, blah. Koryu stared down at the angel and cringed when he saw her wrap her arms around the seventeen-year old Shuichiro as he came out to greet her.

Oh, how she INFURIATES me, he thought bitterly. Damn perky, little pain-in-the-ass angel.

But even as Koryu felt his insides knot in – what was it? Envy? – he couldn't help but smile thoughtfully at the sight of her happiness.

He groaned and put his head in his hands. What's happening to me?

Why did he feel this way? Why did he feel alone? Betrayed? Pained, even?

Koryu had waited one hundred years for that bubbleheaded angel, and now that she was back it was 'Shuichiro this' and 'Shuichiro that' and 'Only if it will make Shuichiro happy'. Why? Why didn't she care about him?

Then again, why would she? All he ever did was tease and torment her, and then show nothing but glee at the sight of her misery. It would only make sense that she wouldn't give a damn about him.

But then again, when it came to matters of the heart, nothing made sense.

Koryu huffed as Kohaku's silvery laugh echoed through the air. The demon looked down to see Kohaku and Shuichiro holding hands, walking through the garden as the angel pointed out everything that she had done to improve the foliage and make the overall beauty of the garden thrive.

Koryu had had enough. He stood up from his crouching position and unfurled his ink-black wings, the feathers gleaming in the morning sun. He took to the sky and flew away, far away … as far away from Kohaku as his heart would allow.

Which lead him to the park just about ten minutes from the Kudo residence.

The park was heavily laden with trees, cherry blossom and wisteria trees, mostly. There were duck ponds and flowers, which bloomed beautifully in the spring, painting the park with colorful rainbows of pink and purple and yellow and blue. Now it was early fall, and the weather was changing, going from the smothering heat of summer to the crisp air of autumn.

Koryu liked this park because it was big, and it was easy to find peaceful solitude among the silent trees. As he neared the ground, fortunately unseen by any humans, he transformed from his traditional black robes to a black sweater and jeans. Normally, he would have worn a hat to cover his pointed ears, but the park seemed to be relatively empty today, and avoiding the bothersome humans would be easy. His wings faded before disappearing entirely as his feet touched the grass.

This was the best place to come for quiet contemplation when his emotions seemed to carry him to states of mind that he would rather stay away from, states of mind such as confusion, sorrow, longing, and pain. All of these states of mind were spurred from one irritating angel.

Koryu remembered the day he had first met Kohaku. Even though it had been nearly two thousand years ago, he remembered it like it was yesterday. They had both been young, only around two hundred years old (which, in the life of an immortal, can be seen as young as twenty years old). Koryu had been accompanying his uncle, Satan, to a bridge meeting, and Kohaku had been with Hisui, the now-ex-archangel of Wind. Immediately Koryu had been drawn to Kohaku's innocent face, her angelic purity, her inquiring amber eyes … she had been the perfect target for his bullying.

So innocent, so naïve, so unprepared to be shoved into a nearby pond, after from which she had emerged, soaking yet, and sobbing uncontrollably. What a baby. Koryu hadn't even felt the slightest bit of remorse for his prank, and never did for any of them after that. From that point on, he had made it his goal everyday to somehow make Kohaku cry in that babyish way that she did. It was utterly hysterical.

At first, he had just seen her as a toy, someone to occupy himself with on those days where he had nothing to do. After the first few centuries, he had grown to see her as somewhat of a friend, gradually building one of those love/hate relationships.

But as time wore on, his feelings began to grow. Eventually, he came to see his evolved feelings for the angel as a crush, an attraction to her innocent nature, her divine purity, her naïve vulnerability, her subtle need to be protected. He found his heart melt each time she smiled that bright smile. But, the only way he could express his feelings, he found, was through bullying her. Stupid as it sounded, it made some sort of sense to him.

And because Koryu always bullied her, Kohaku never suspected his true feelings for her, nor did she return the feelings. The only emotion she was sure she ever felt for that arrogant, garnet-eyed demon was hate, an absolute loathing.

But Koryu had never minded this. He had been certain that no one would ever take Kohaku away from him, and he'd thought he'd never have to worry about losing her to someone else. Of course, he'd never planned on Kohaku meeting Shuichiro, and he'd definitely never planned on her falling in love with him.

But one hundred years ago, he himself had been too engrossed in the human, or rather, the soul leaking out of the human, to be jealous of Shuichiro and Kohaku. But, he had been pained when Kohaku had been crushed after the human's death, had been pained when she was punished by God, and had been pained when she was encased in a tree for one hundred years. He'd missed her … oh, how he'd missed her over that long century.

He'd often visited the wisteria tree she was trapped in, gently brushing it with his fingertips, and talking to the sleeping angel inside, knowing full well that she couldn't hear him. The rest of his time had been spent training and growing stronger so that he could always stay in his original form instead of shrinking during the day like he used to. Now he was big all of the time.

Like now, as the afternoon sun sat high in the sky, he was big, when – just years ago – he would've been in his chibi form. Now he was powerful enough … he was good enough that he could stay in his original form.

But, no matter how good or powerful he was, he'd never be good enough for Kohaku.

She loved Shuichiro, not him.

Ah, hell, she had waited one hundred years just for that human to be reincarnated again! One hundred years just to be with him again.

Koryu felt his heart ache.

But why? Why did he feel this way? He was a demon, nephew of Satan himself. How the hell had he ever managed to fall in lo – er – become attracted to that … that …

"That bubbleheaded, blonde-haired, big-eyed …" Koryu began to rant, kicking a nearby tree angrily. He drew a sharp breath, muttering a curse, as a pang shot through his leg. Tears rolled down his cheeks from the pain in his heart now doubled with the pain in his foot. "That … that …" His will began to fail, his anger at the angel ebbing, despite his desire to hate Kohaku. "That beautiful, innocent, sweet …" he continued through sobs, "angelic, light-hearted girl."

He fell to his knees, his right forearm pressed against the trunk of the tree he had kicked. He leaned his forehead against his arm, his head bowed so that his tears fell to the grass. "Why?" he cried. "Why do you love him? Why … Why not me?"

He needed to get away from Kohaku. As far away as he could. He needed to forget her for his pain to either disappear …

Or numb his heart until he couldn't feel anything anymore … not even the pain.

He transformed back into his traditional garb as his wings sprouted from his back. He took off again, flying higher and higher until he seemed to be just a black speck to those on the ground. He needed to fly high enough so that he could travel without being seen by the humans.

He wasn't coming back. Not until the pain was gone.

---

Kohaku held out her birdseed-filled hand to the bluebirds nesting in a tree in Shuichiro's backyard. They hungrily accepted the birdseed, singing their thanks to the smiling angel.

"You're welcome!" she responded to their chirps.

Once the birds had finished, Kohaku looked around. It was strangely quiet. Just then, it dawned on her that she had not seen Koryu in days … or had it been weeks? She'd figured that after a hundred years of not having her around, he'd jump on every chance to annoy her to no end.

But he wasn't there. He hadn't made an entrance for quite some time now. And as much as Kohaku hated to admit it …

She was worried.

But her concern was temporarily put on hold as she heard Shuichiro open the front door. He was home from school. She ran to greet him but stopped dead as her eyes fell upon the scene before her. Shuichiro was smiling and laughing, his fingers laced with those of another girl as they walked, hand in hand, towards the backyard.

Kohaku immediately ran back outside and transformed from her angel appearance to one that was more human-like. Then she quieted her racing heart and put on the most welcoming face she could.

Why was he with that girl?

Don't worry, Kohaku,the angel told herself. He'll fall for you soon enough.

After all, Shuichiro was human, and he was only seventeen years old. Kohaku couldn't expect him to fall in love with her right away. It wasn't natural. He needed to date other girls first; he needed to live his life as any normal person would.

The old Shuichiro hadn't fallen for her right away. Why should it be any different with this Shuichiro? If she and him were, indeed, destined to be together, Kohaku shouldn't worry about a little competition. She'd win out in the end … right?